Your insider guide to the Grand Canyon State
Regal canyons coated in every shade of purple and red. Ancient trails marked by petroglyphs and dinosaur prints. Gold-mining ghost towns, laid-back wine trails and towering saguaro cacti raising their hands toward the wide-open sky.
How is it possible that one state can hold so much? It helps that Arizona is the sixth largest in the country. It positively sparkles with hidden gems to explore. We rounded up just a few of our favourites to inspire your next trip to the Grand Canyon State.
Ready for anything
By Brittney Wong
Raw beauty that shocks & awes
Arizona is nothing short of a wonderland. Arid deserts punctuated by four-story-high saguaros and skylines of rock spires. Moonscapes of rolling white sands or crater fields. Painted deserts, and remote waterfalls, and a California condor soaring above a swirling slot canyon. Frankly, there’s too much to write about. But we tried our best to distill the absolute-must-see sights below.
Outdoor adventure
Saguaro cacti typically start to grow arms at 75 years old
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Adventure
culture
wellness
eat & drink
Understandably, this national park, which lies wholly in Arizona, is one of the most visited in the country. Over five million people explore it every year. To beat the crowds, go in winter, when the red rocks may be dusted in snow and lodge rooms are more readily available. And you'll get more of the trails to yourself as you descend down the canyon walls.
For a breakfast pastry: Mamiche
Packed with locals, this neighbourhood boulangerie (with outlets in the 9th and 10th arrondissements) was opened by two friends in 2017. The duo kneads sourdough and bakes brioche fresh every day. Focused on seasonal flavours and natural ingredients like living yeast, a return visit to this aromatic café will guarantee your palate something new, like a pumpkin beignet or summertime clafoutis. But they’re most well known for their sweet braided babka, woven with orange blossom and Valrhona chocolate.
Vermillion Cliffs National Monument: This national monument sprawls out over 1,100 square kilometres in the state’s wild north, near the Utah border. Instead of tourist crowds, paved roads and visitor centres, adventurers can expect narrow slot canyons, billowing sandstone buttes and thousands of dinosaur footprints, all with the occasional California condor gliding overhead. And then there’s The Wave. Only 64 visitors per day get to behold this stunning swathe of pink, pulled-taffy-like sandstone that looks straight out of Willy Wonka’s imagination. Enter the online lottery to vie for 48 daily slots or try your luck on site to see if you can grab one of the 16 walk-in spots.
Only 64 people get to experience The Wave each day
The Sky Islands: Scattered amid a sea of desert, an archipelago of 12 separate mountain ranges, known as “sky islands,” rise from Arizona’s southeast. Each one serves as an isolated habitat of flora and fauna that wouldn’t survive in the surrounding desert, essentially creating an island of (remarkable) biodiversity. Hiking and biking trails crisscross through the peaks’ pine forests. But the real draw is for birdwatchers — more than half the bird species of North America, including the elegant trogon and iridescent Rivoli’s hummingbird, can be found flitting about this mountainous expanse.
Arizona
Antelope Canyon: There’s a reason the most expensive photo on record (which sold for US$6.5 million) was of sunlight streaming into Antelope Canyon, a slot canyon just a short drive east of Page in the Navajo Nation. The place is magical. Enter its cathedral of dancing red sandstone with a mandatory Navajo guide and gaze up at curved walls sculpted by millions of years of water erosion. We recommend going in the winter for the lowest tour prices and thinnest crowds, and visiting in the summer for the best chance to see a sunbeam.
Indigenous history, ghost towns & more
Arizona’s history is a tapestry woven by Native Americans, miners, cowboys and pioneers. Millennia-old petroglyphs mark paths later walked by gold diggers. Desert lands attracted artists and architects. Today visitors can experience all of the state’s colourful, interlacing past through its museums and historic sites.
Heritage & culture
Route 66: One of the longest and best-preserved sections of what John Steinbeck dubbed the Mother Road runs through Arizona. Check out retro diners, teepee motels and other living pieces of Americana as you get your kicks. For an otherworldly stop, dip south just west of Winslow to see a 50,000-year-old crater blasted out of the earth by an approximately 150-foot-wide iron-nickel meteorite.
Bisbee: In the early 1900s, this city at Arizona’s southeast corner bustled with miners, becoming the largest city between San Francisco and St. Louis. (From 1880-1975, it produced US$6 billion in copper and other metals.) Now it’s a mecca for offbeat artists and urban escapees, and its quirky charm earned it a spot on Frommer’s list of 18 best places to go in 2018. Learn about its mining history at the Smithsonian-affiliated museum or take a tour of the seven-level Queen Mine. You can relive the day’s adventures over a pint at St. Elmo, the oldest continually run bar in the state.
Get your kicks on Route 66, see ancient ruins and search for lost gold
Montezuma Castle National Monument: About 900 years ago, the local Sinagua people began constructing what would become a five-story, 20-room residence constructed along the walls of a limestone cliff, about 80 feet up from the valley floor. Despite its name, this building has nothing to do with the Aztec emperor. If you're driving between Flagstaff and Phoenix on Interstate 17, stop by to gaze up at the prehistoric structure and learn more at the visitor centre.
The Sinagua people built Montezuma Castle about nine centuries ago
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West: The famed architect’s UNESCO-recognized winter home lies low amid the foothills of the McDowell Mountains, blending in with the surrounding Sonoran Desert. Book a guided tour in advance to explore his drafting studio, office space, living area and more. If you go before June 19, 2022, you'll also get to see gorgeous pieces by famous glassblower Dale Chihuly that are currently on display.
Heard Museum: This Phoenix institution has celebrated and promoted American Indian art since its founding in 1929. Take a guided tour of its 12 exhibition spaces and outdoor sculpture garden to see 400 Hopi Katsina dolls, modern watercolours and historic exhibits on American Indian boarding schools.
Frank Lloyd Wright's Arizona home, Taliesin West
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base: Arizona's arid air provides the ideal preservation grounds for the over 4,000 aircraft parked in the world’s largest airplane boneyard, located in the southeast outskirts of Tucson. You can tour the area by bus, which you arrange at the neighbouring Pima Air & Space Museum. Be sure to check out the museum’s own 400-some aircraft on display, including three hangars dedicated to WWII.
Aeronautics enthusiasts can't miss the Pima Air & Space Museum
Breathing in the open air
Whether your extracurricular passion is a perfectly hit drive or an ahh-inspiring massage, Arizona’s wellness and leisure scene has the venue for you.
Sumptuous spas: The state has long been heralded as a haven for spa lovers. Seven of the 30 best destination spa resorts in the entire country are within Arizona borders (Conde Nast Traveller Readers' Choice Awards 2021). One of the most famous is the 400-acre Miraval Arizona Resort, in the shade of the Catalinas. This luxurious, digital device-free option offers everything from massages and meditation to aerial yoga and in-house meals. We also love L'Apothecary Spa in L'Auberge de Sedona for its emphasis on natural essences like sage and calendula, as well as its soothing creekside massages.
Wellness & leisure
World-famous golf: Amateurs and scratch golfers can tee off at more than 300 courses across the state. Undoubtedly the most famous option is the TPC Scottsdale Stadium Course, where the 16th hole transforms into the rowdy “Coliseum” during tournament season.
Do yoga, tee off or get a massage — all backdropped by the state's red rocks
Expert-led stargazing: Arizona takes stargazing seriously. After all, Flagstaff's efforts against light pollution earned it the title of world's first International Dark Sky City in 2001 as recognized by the International Dark-Sky Association. Pluto was even discovered in Flagstaff by scientists at the city's Lowell Observatory. Today, Arizona has 19 certified dark-sky communities.
One of our favourite astronomical experiences in the state is the year-round SkyNights at the University of Arizona’s SkyCenter. Participants eat a light dinner, listen to a presenter teach about star charts, watch a mountainous sunset and then use the largest dedicated public telescopes in the Southwest to navigate the boundless stars.
Wine & dine with a view
Arizona has built its cuisine from the ground up. Green nopales add crunch to salads, prickly pear turns cocktails pink and mesquite flour adds nuttiness to fresh-baked cookies. Native American dishes like fry bread get mixed with Mexican favourites like tacos and tortas. The end result? Award-winning deliciousness.
For an Arizona must, chow down on a Sonoran hot dog at one of the four El Guero Canelo outposts dotted throughout the city. This eatery’s take on the Arizona classic — a hot dog wrapped in bacon, cocooned in a bolillo roll and piled with tomatoes, onions and pinto beans — is so tasty it won a James Beard Award. Wash it down with an ice-cold fruity eegee, a Tucson icon since 1971.
Eat & drink
With its melting pot of flavours spiced by Native American, Spanish, Mexican and American cuisines, Tucson became the first UNESCO City of Gastronomy in the entire United States. It earned the title not just for amazing eats, but also for its dedication to preserving local agricultural history. Case in point: Barrio Bread, where baker Don Guerra uses only southern Arizona grains, one of which he actually helped revive. Get the Locavore (pictured), a whole grain loaf stenciled with a sprig of wheat in front of an iconic saguaro cactus.
Tucson
Grab a chipotle shrimp taco or traditional Mexican elote at BOCA, a casual joint helmed by Top Chef alum and James Beard Award semifinalist Maria Mazon. For a more upscale dinner, sit down at Hotel Congress’ Maynards. Chef Brian Smith, who won Iron Chef Tucson in 2018, whips up a seasonally inspired menu that focuses on local ingredients.
Sonoran hot dogs are an Arizona classic
Any foodie trip to Phoenix needs to include a meal at Kai within the Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass. It’s the only restaurant in all of Arizona that has both a CAA Five-Diamond award and a Forbes Five-Star Award. Dine on Native American-influenced dishes like tribal buffalo topped with smoked corn puree as you gaze out at the Sierra Estrella mountains.
Phoenix
Arizona is home to the U.S.'s first UNESCO City of Gastronomy
Native American fry bread and Mexican tacos are both state staples
Fry Bread House, a Tohono O'odham family-run joint serving up award-winning fry bread on Phoenix’s 7th Ave., will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2022. This Phoenix mainstay makes taco-like versions of the Native American food topped with chorizo or dipped in hominy stew, as well as dessert options drizzled with chocolate or honey. (For a different sweet treat, try the chocolate chip cookies made with local mesquite flour at Scottsdale’s Super Chunk.)
And don’t forget to grab a slice at Pizzeria Bianco, called the best pizza in America over the decades by Oprah and Rachael Ray and run by “arguably the nation’s most revered pizzaiolo” (The New York Times).
Oenophiles can go vineyard-hopping in three different regions
Yes, Arizona produces wine. In fact, its viticulture traces back centuries, when 17th-century Spanish missionaries first planted grapevines. Now the state boasts three American Viticultural Areas: Sonoita-Elgin, Willcox and the Verde Valley, comprised of 25 wineries in Northern Arizona from Jerome to Sedona.
The wine regions
Because winter can be chillier up north — by Arizona standards, i.e. highs in the low teens — fewer oenophiles traverse the Verde Valley Trail in the cold-weather months, making it a great time for leisurely chats with the winemakers and getting more of the vineyards to yourself. We love Cornville’s Page Springs Cellar, which pairs small-batch wines with a full experience including art and yoga, and unpretentious Arizona Stronghold.
Land of rooftop pools & lazy rivers
Arizona’s hotel scene is ridiculously diverse. Think dude ranches, glamping sites, turn-of-the-century hotels and, of course, luxury resorts. We’re shining a spotlight on some of the state’s most beautiful resort properties because, after the past year and a half, we could all use an indulgent break.
Resort life
Loews Ventana Canyon Resort: Guests of this activity-filled property in Tucson can tee off on championship golf courses, serve tennis aces with views of the mountains, take a dip in two large pools and dine on Southwestern classics with a fine-dining flair at Flying V Bar & Grill.
Fairmont Scottsdale Princess: This 5-star, CAA Five-Diamond resort boasts an award-winning spa, its own white sand beach, zero-entry waters, a 200-foot-long waterslide and infinity hot tubs.
Arizona Grand Resort & Spa: The main draw at this all-suite resort in Phoenix is the plethora of water features. It has a seven-acre water park with eight-story waterslides, wave pool, 25-person hot tub and even a tubing river with rolling rapids.
Just a 10-minute drive from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, the all-suite Arizona Grand Resort & Spa has amenities for the entire family
resort life
Grand Canyon National Park: We’re pretty sure the word “jaw-dropping” was invented to describe the Grand Canyon. The natural wonder tears the northern part of the state wide open for 445 kilometres and yawns up to 28.8 kilometres wide. Its crevasse walls plunge 1.6 kilometres from the rim to the powerful Colorado River. (To put that depth in perspective, three CN Towers could fit in the canyon, stacked one on top of the other.)
But memorable holes are everywhere in Arizona — one particularly photogenic spot awaits at Tucson’s Lodge at Ventana Canyon, where a 107-yard par 3 asks you to play across a canyon of prickly cacti (pictured).
You can even putt for an audience of Cathedral Rock at Sedona Golf Resort in Northern Arizona. And for a budget-friendly hidden gem, drive 35 minutes west of Flagstaff to tee off at Elephant Rocks Golf Course, where people have been golfing for nearly a hundred years.
Fairmont Scottsdale Princess: This 5-star, CAA Five-Diamond resort boasts an award-winning spa, its own white sand beach, zero-entry waters, a 200-foot-long waterslide and infinity hot tubs.
Arizona Grand Resort & Spa: The main draw at this all-suite resort in Phoenix is the plethora of water features. It has a seven-acre water park with eight-story waterslides, wave pool, 25-person hot tub and even a tubing river with rolling rapids.
Expert-led stargazing: Arizona takes stargazing seriously. After all, Flagstaff's efforts against light pollution earned it the title of world's first International Dark Sky City in 2001 as recognized by the International Dark-Sky Association. Pluto was even discovered in Flagstaff by scientists at the city's Lowell Observatory. Today, Arizona has 19 certified dark-sky communities.
One of our favourite astronomical experiences in the state is the year-round SkyNights at the University of Arizona’s SkyCenter. Participants eat a light dinner, listen to a presenter teach about star charts, watch a mountainous sunset and then use the largest dedicated public telescopes in the Southwest to navigate the boundless stars.
Bisbee: In the early 1900s, this city at Arizona’s southeast corner bustled with miners, becoming the largest city between San Francisco and St. Louis. (From 1880-1975, it produced US$6 billion in copper and other metals.) Now it’s a mecca for offbeat artists and urban escapees, and its quirky charm earned it a spot on Frommer’s list of 18 best places to go in 2018. Learn about its mining history at the Smithsonian-affiliated museum or take a tour of the seven-level Queen Mine. You can relive the day’s adventures over a pint at St. Elmo, the oldest continually run bar in the state.
Regal canyons coated in every shade of purple and red. Ancient trails marked by petroglyphs and dinosaur prints. Gold-mining ghost towns, laid-back wine trails and towering saguaro cacti raising their hands toward the wide-open sky.
How is it possible that one state can hold so much? It helps that Arizona is the sixth largest in the country. It positively sparkles with hidden gems to explore. We rounded up just a few of our favourites to inspire your next trip to the Grand Canyon State.
